Depending on external libraries

[Kaleb S. KEITHLEY]

Michel D=C3=A4nzer wrote:
> On Thu, 2004-03-11 at 19:36, Kendall Bennett wrote:
>=20
>>Egbert Eich <eich@pdx.freedeskop.org> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>That's what I call 'external dependencies'.
>=20
>=20
> [...]
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>=20
>>>Expat: convenience.
>=20
>=20
> Note that Expat is used by the new configuration framework in the DRI
> tree. Works fine here with the system provided version though.

I don't know where "here" is or even what "the system" is either.

Here, on one of my systems=C2=B9, there is no expat, and no option to ins=
tall=20
it in a way that's remotely analogous to getting the RPM from the distro =

CD or a web site and installing it.

On two other systems=C2=B2=C2=B3 the only way to get it is to install the=
 XFree86=20
packages, and then it's installed in /usr/X11R6/lib, not in /usr/lib.=20
(Therefore Egbert's recent change in the -RELEASE-1 tree that assumes=20
headers are in /usr/include doesn't work.)

Having to install XFree86 on these systems to resolve dependencies to=20
build our X seems just a little bit silly to me.

Oh, of course I could always just go track down the expat source, build=20
it, and install it. (So please don't bother to tell me that that's all I =

need to do.)

You guys that are pro-modular-tree keep citing "how easy it (the modular =

tree) makes things for people who want to work on the source." Well,=20
having these dependencies in the monolithic tree makes things easier=20
too. As big advocates of "making things easier" as you are, I expect=20
this argument will make perfect sense to you.

Having the build automatically build them too also makes things easier.

Asking people to edit their site.def or host.def to not build something=20
isn't asking too much IMO if a system already has the needed dependency. =

That's a heck of a lot easier than having to hunt down the source for=20
something, build it, and install it.

If it takes a little more work for "us" to make it easier for our=20
"customers" then the choice should be obvious.

=C2=B9 is Solaris.
=C2=B2 is FreeBSD
=C2=B3 is Mac OS 10